onlycfo.io · 2023-05-08 · 1123d

Down Rounds Won't Kill You

The article argues that down rounds, while painful, are preferable to companies pursuing unrealistic growth plans or excessive cost-cutting that destroys long-term viability. CEOs should accept valuation reductions, build financial plans based on realistic data rather than returning to prior valuations, and balance growth with efficiency rather than optimizing for a single metric.

8 metrics· Cited 0× in the knowledge base ·Open source ↗

Metrics in this report

Premium to Public Market (SaaS Multiples)

325percent

median

Private market premium over public comparables in 2021

Premium to Public Market (SaaS Multiples)

560percent

median

Private market premium over public comparables in 2022 (widened due to public market compression)

SaaS Revenue Multiple (High Growth Software)

32.4x revenue

median

2021 peak valuation for high-growth SaaS

SaaS Revenue Multiple (High Growth Software)

13.7x revenue

median

2022 valuation for high-growth SaaS

Series B and C Software ARR Multiple

105.4x ARR

median

2021 peak valuation for Series B/C SaaS

Series B and C Software ARR Multiple

76.7x ARR

median

2022 valuation for Series B/C SaaS

Top 10 Public SaaS Company Revenue Multiple

60x revenue

average

2021 peak valuation

Top 10 Public SaaS Company Revenue Multiple

10x revenue

average

2023 valuation